Jonathan Spence, Sterling Professor of History and a renowned authority on modern Chinese history, will be made a Companion of the Distinguished Order of St. Michael and St. George (CMG), an honor given by the Queen of England for outstanding achievement.
The award was among those announced as part of Queen Elizabeth II's Birthday Honors List on June 16 in London. The CMG is the third rank of the Most Distinguished Order of St. Michael and St. George, created by the Prince Regent (later George IV) in 1818. It is conferred principally on British diplomats and others who have performed important duties abroad. Spence, who was one of 16 individuals awarded the CMG on the Queen's List in 2001, will receive his honor at Buckingham Palace at a formal investiture ceremony later this year.
Recognized as one of the foremost scholars of Chinese civilization from the 16th century to the present, Spence has written extensively on the role of history in shaping modern China. His many books include "The Search for Modern China," "The Memory Palace of Matteo Ricci," "The Gate of Heavenly Peace: The Chinese and Their Revolution 1895-1980," "The Chan's Great Continent: China in Western Minds" and "Chinese Century: A Photographic History of the Last Hundred Years" (written with his wife, Annping Chin). His most recent books are the 1999 biography of Mao Zedong and this year's "Treason by the Book," exploring a little-known but significant episode of 18th-century history.
A native of England, Spence holds a bachelor's degree in history from Cambridge University and master's and doctoral degrees from Yale. He began teaching at Yale in 1965 and was named the Sterling Professor of History in 1993.
Spence was a 1988 MacArthur Fellow, and became a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1985. He won the 1983 Vursel Prize of the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters. He has received five honorary degrees.
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